NORWAY Law and Practice Contributed by: Kristian Lindhartsen, Lilly Kathrin Relling and Tobias Kilde, Kvale Advokatfirma DA
Kvale Advokatfirma DA Haakon VII gate 10 PO Box 1752 Vika N-0122 Oslo Norway
Tel: +47 22 47 97 00 Fax: +47 21 05 85 85 Email: post@kvale.no Web: www.kvale.no
1. Maritime and Shipping Legislation and Regulation 1.1 Domestic Laws Establishing the Authorities of the Maritime and Shipping Courts The ordinary courts in Norway have authority in all maritime disputes that are subject to Norwegian juris - diction, unless the parties have agreed to arbitration. Norway does not have specialised courts (such as an Admiralty Court), so shipping and maritime-relat - ed disputes are submitted to and settled by the civil courts; this includes, for example, ship arrest, direct action claims, claims for salvage, cargo claims and charterparty claims. There are three instances in the Norwegian court sys - tem: • the district courts; • the courts of appeal; and • the Supreme Court. The relevant legislation for the courts that have juris - diction in maritime law matters is the Norwegian Dis - pute Act (NDA) and the Norwegian Courts of Justice Act. 1.2 Port State Control Norway is a signatory to the Memorandum of Under - standing on Port State Control signed on 26 Janu - ary 1982 (the “Paris MOU”). By utilising its database, results from previous inspections can be made avail -
able, enabling member states of the Paris MOU to review a vessel’s risk category prior to entering a port. Port state control is regulated in domestic law under the Regulations of 24 November 2014 No 1458 on port state control. The controls are carried out by the Norwegian Maritime Authority, which has jurisdiction over foreign ships arriving in Norwegian ports. A ves - sel may be detained if it is considered a hazard to the environment or safety, has breached the Maritime Labour Convention, or has working conditions that pose an obvious threat to the crew’s safety. If a pollution incident occurs, the Norwegian Coastal Administration (NCA) is responsible for the emergency response. The NCA is an agency of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Fisheries, and exercises authority pursuant to the Harbour and Fairways Act and parts of the Pollution Act. Section 17 of the Harbour and Fairways Act provides legal grounds for the authorities to order wreck removal where a wreck poses a danger or disadvantage for navigation in port. 1.3 Domestic Legislation Applicable to Ship Registration Ship registration in Norway is divided into the Nor - wegian International Ship Register (NIS) and the Nor - wegian Ordinary Ship Register (NOR). Vessels owned by foreign entities can only register in NIS. The Nor - wegian Maritime Authority is in charge of registering vessels in both NIS and NOR, and holds jurisdiction over all vessels registered in Norway. It is also respon - sible for the registration of rights in ships in NIS. NOR is regulated by the Norwegian Maritime Code, while
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